Condiment packet holder for use with an automobile cupholder or air vent

ABSTRACT

A condiment packet holder of molded plastic has a generally centrally located aperture sized to receive and suspend a body of a condiment packet. The condiment packet holder has a generally cylindrical body surrounding the aperture, sized to be received by an automobile cup-holder and rest on the rim of an insert therein, just below the opening of the cup-holder at a height convenient for dipping food items into an open-top condiment packet supported by the condiment packet holder. An extension from one portion of the condiment packet holder body is received by a corresponding discontinuity commonly found in the upper portion of automobile cup-holders, and includes a slot receiving a slat from an air vent within the automobile, allowing the packet holder to be wedged into the air vent.

This application incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/553,705 entitled “CONDIMENT PACKET HOLDER FOR USEWITH AN AUTOMOBILE CUPHOLDER OR AIR VENT” and filed on Oct. 31, 2011 andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/610,898 entitled “CONDIMENTHOLDER FOR USE WITH AN AUTOMOBILE CUPHOLDER OR AIR VENT” and filed onMar. 14, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to a holder for disposablecondiment packets and, more specifically, to a condiment packet holderadapted for mounting within an automobile cup-holder or air vent.

BACKGROUND

Fast food consumers often prefer to consume certain foods with acondiment that cannot be applied to the food until the food is to beeaten, or else the quality of the food will deteriorate. For example,many people enjoy ketchup (catsup) on french fries (often just called“fries”). However, when ketchup is applied to fries, the ketchuptypically soaks into the fires within a short period of time, renderingthe fries soggy and unappealing. Likewise, chicken “nuggets” (alsocalled chicken tenders or strips) are often sold by fast foodestablishments with a choice of condiment, such as barbeque, honeymustard or sweet and sour sauce, ranch dressing, etc. As with ketchupand fries, applying the sauce at the time of sale will result in thechicken nuggets quickly becoming soggy. With both fries and chickennuggets, applying the condiment to the food at the time of sale alsocauses the food to become undesirably messy for eating with just theconsumer's fingers. Most customers prefer to individually dip theirfries or chicken nuggets into the condiment a few moments before eating.Accordingly, condiments for such foods are typically dispensed by fastfood enterprises in disposable packets, separate from the food or eventhe food packaging.

While dipping sauces for nuggets have been sold in rectangular orcylindrical plastic tubs having a peel-off covering (see FIG. 7), untilrecently personal portions of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, tartar sauceand relish have been predominantly dispensed by fast food enterprises inplastic or polymeric pouch-like envelopes that are torn open at onecorner and squeezed to dispense the condiment. Of course, fries couldnot be dipped into ketchup held by such packets, requiring that theketchup be dispensed onto a surface or into an open-top container toallow dipping. Recently, however, H.J. Heinz Company began nationalsales of ketchup in their “Dip & Squeeze” packets. FIGS. 6A and 6B aretop and bottom perspective views of that condiment packet design,reproduced from U.S. Pat. No. D634,643. The generally-plastic packetbody shown in those figures is sealed by a peel-off cover of a flexiblematerial, as described in further detail in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2010/0270330, and holds approximately one ounce ofketchup. FIG. 6C is a perspective illustration of the commercialembodiment of the packets in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

While allowing dipping of food into a condiment held by the open-toppacket (once the cover is peeled off), the condiment packet designdisclosed in the patent documents identified above remains problematicfor use in automobiles. The packet must be held in one hand while theother hand holds and dips the food item being eaten. Alternatively, theopen-top packet must rest on a generally level surface while the fooditem is dipped into the condiment contained therein. Normal automotiveoperation requires the driver to have at least one hand substantiallycontinuously gripping the steering wheel, and passengers often do nothave two free hands either. Merely setting the condiment packet on thesurface of a seat, console, armrest, dashboard or the like within thevehicle leaves the packet subject to sliding, tipping and/or falling dueto inertia and momentum in response to changes in the vehicle's speed ordirection. Placing the packet within a cup-holder in the vehicle willusually cause the packet to be at an inconvenient position for dippingthe food item in the condiment, since the cup-holder will normally betoo deep and narrow to allow easy dipping of a food item held in aperson's hand.

There is, therefore, a need in the art for an improved condiment packetholder.

SUMMARY

A condiment packet holder of molded plastic has a generally centrallylocated aperture sized to receive a body of a condiment packet and tosuspend that body by supporting, on surfaces surrounding the aperture, aflange protruding at the top of the condiment packet around a peripheryof the body. The condiment packet holder has a generally cylindricalbody surrounding the aperture, sized to be received by an automobilecup-holder and rest on the rim of an insert therein, just below theopening of the cup-holder at a height convenient for dipping food itemsinto an open-top condiment packet supported by the condiment packetholder. An extension from one portion of the condiment packet holderbody is received by a corresponding discontinuity commonly found in theupper portion of automobile cup-holders, and includes a slot receiving aslat from an air vent within the automobile, allowing the packet holderto be wedged into the air vent. The simple construction allows forinexpensive manufacture, such that fast-food enterprises may distributethe packet holder as a promotional item.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” aswell as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term“or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and“associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean toinclude, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be containedwithin, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with,cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to orwith, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller”means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least oneoperation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should benoted that the functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the condiment packet holder of FIG. 1,taken at section line 2-2;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the alternative manners by which thecondiment packet holder of FIGS. 1 and 2 may support a condiment packet;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A is a section view taken at section lines A-A in FIG. 4, and FIG.4B is a side view of a portion of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according tostill another embodiment of the present disclosure, illustratingadditional design concepts;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are top and bottom perspective views of an existingcondiment packet design;

FIG. 6C is a perspective illustration of a commercial embodiment of thepackets in FIGS. 6A and 6B; and

FIG. 7 contains several perspective views of an alternate existingcondiment packet design.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 5, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure, while FIG. 2 is a sectional viewof the condiment packet holder 100 of FIG. 1 taken at section line 2-2.FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure. Condiment packet holder100, 300 includes a body having an aperture 101, 301 therethrough, forreceiving the body of the condiment packet. The shape of the aperture101, 301 must necessarily be shaped to substantially conform to theshape of the body of the condiment packets to be held. For instance, theaperture 101 in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shaped toreceive and hold packets having a body with the shape depicted in FIGS.6A-6B, and is thus generally rectangular but with counterpart endportions 103 a, 103 b of each long side of the rectangle angled inward,similar to a trapezoid. The edges of the aperture 101 need not bestraight, but may instead be slightly curved as illustrated at thebottom of the aperture 101 depicted in FIG. 1. The corners of theaperture 101 are preferably rounded.

The aperture 101 shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 issized to receive the body of the condiment packet depicted in FIGS.6A-6B and to hold that packet suspended, supported by the protruding lipor flange extending laterally from around the periphery at the top ofthe packet body. That is, the flange at the top of the condiment packetrests on the upper surface of the condiment packet holder 100, while thebody is received by the aperture 101 and hangs from the protrudingpacket lip through and below the aperture 101. The aperture 101 depictedin FIG. 1 thus has a width of about 1.25 inches and a length of about2.25 to 2.5 inches, sufficient to receive the body of the packet inFIGS. 6A-6B but smaller than the length and width of the lip or flangeprotruding (by about 0.25 inches) laterally around the top of thatpacket.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the alternative manners by which thecondiment packet holder of FIGS. 1 and 2 may support a condiment packet.As shown in FIG. 2A, the aperture in the condiment packet holder may besized larger than the width and length of the condiment packet body butsmaller than the outer dimensions of the protruding flange at the top ofthe condiment packet body, so that the condiment packet is suspended bythe protruding flange. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B, for acondiment packet with battered or sloped sides, the aperture may besized to catch the sides of the condiment packet, leaving a smallportion of the condiment packet extending above the upper surface of thecondiment packet holder for ease in grasping for removal.

The aperture could alternatively be entirely rectangular (except,perhaps, for having rounded corners), without the angled end portionsshown in FIG. 1. The aperture 301 depicted in FIG. 3 illustrates thisvariation. The aperture 301 depicted in FIG. 3 thus has a width of about1.25 inches and a length of about 1.75 inches, sufficient to receive thebody of the packets depicted in FIGS. 6A-6 b but smaller than the lengthand width of the flange or lip (typically between 0.125 and 0.25 inches)protruding laterally around the top of those packets. If appropriatelysized, the modified aperture 301 would still receive the body of andsupport the packet depicted in FIGS. 6A-6B. However such a modifiedaperture would also support other condiment packet designs of similarrectangular shape (and approximately the same body and flangedimensions), such as those illustrated in FIG. 7. Of course, forgenerally cylindrical or frusto-conical condiment packets, the apertureshould be circular. The aperture may also be square, triangular ortrapezoidal in shape, depending on the condiment packets to besupported.

The length and width of the aperture 101, 301 is slightly larger thanthe corresponding length and width of the body of the packet depicted inFIGS. 6A-6B or FIG. 7 just below the flange, allowing the aperture toreceive the body of that packet with clearance of at least about1/32^(nd) to ⅛^(th) of an inch while remaining smaller than the lengthand width of the flange. Of course, the length and width of the aperture101, 301 need not necessarily be smaller than both the correspondinglength and width of the flange around the top of the condiment packet.Instead, for at least generally rectangular shaped condiment packetshaving a length significantly greater than the width, only one of thelength and width of the aperture need be smaller than either thecorresponding length or the corresponding width of the flange around thepacket body.

For example, the aperture could be generally square with a dimensionsmaller than the length of the flange on the packets of FIGS. 6A-6B, andwould thus receive the body of and support those packets regardless ofwhether inserted with a first orientation or with a second orientationrotated approximately 90° relative to the first orientation. That is, atleast a portion of the flange of the packet would rest on the surface ofthe condiment packet holder at opposite ends of the condiment packet,but not necessarily along other sides of the packet. Such an aperturemight thus function with condiment packets of a variety of sizes,limited only in that the flange must significantly exceed (preferably byat least one-quarter to one-half of an inch) the dimension of theaperture, and that the length of the packet body just below the flangeprevent the packet from sliding within the aperture until the lip is nolonger supported at one end. By preference, however, during use theflange of a condiment packet is supported by the surface of thecondiment packet holder 100 around at least a majority of the peripherythereof, and even more preferably around an entirety of the peripheryfor that flange. Thus, while the aperture may be sized and/or shaped toreceive condiment packets within a range of sizes, such range ispreferably kept small, and in any event well below the minimum dimensionby which the flange projects outward from the packet body just below theflange.

The periphery of the planform for the body of condiment packet holder100, 300 surrounding the aperture 101, 301 is generally circular,although in some embodiments the body for condiment packet holder 100,300 may be completely circular in planform. That is, the body of suchembodiments has a cylindrical three-dimensional shape forming, withaperture 101 or 301, a generally annular planform. The preferredembodiment, however, includes a protrusion from a portion of thecircular planform, discussed in further detail below.

The thickness of the body is preferably between about one-quarter of aninch and 30 millimeters (mm), and more preferably about one-sixteenth ofan inch. The body is preferably rigid or semi-rigid and may be formed ofmolded, recyclable thermoplastic or thermosetting polymeric or plasticmaterial such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The body ispreferably formed with ridges or raised lips 103, 104 on both sidesaround the periphery of the aperture 101, 301 and around the outerperiphery of the body.

The outer diameter for the circular portion of the body should bebetween about 3.5 and 4.5 inches and preferably between about 3.75 and4.0 inches. Automobile cup-holders within a fixed or fold-down centralconsole generally contain a rubber insert having an inner diameter ofabout 2.5 to more than 3.0 inches, to receive and hold a standard 12ounce aluminum beverage can or 20 ounce plastic bottle, as well as otherbeverage containers formed with at least a bottom portion thereof havinga similar size. Near the top of those cup-holders is a lip or rim of asmuch as one-quarter to one-half inch in width, surrounded by wall formedby the console material. Cup-holders on the dashboard or doors of anautomobile will often have a similar shape. The condiment packet holder100 is intended to be received by the upper wall portion of thecup-holder, to rest on the rim or lip that is not far below uppermostportion of the cup-holder but which may be several inches above thebottom of the cup-holder on which beverage containers rest. Thecondiment packet supported by the condiment packet holder is thussuspended in the region normally occupied by a beverage container whenplaced in the cup-holder, at a convenient height above the bottom of thecup-holder.

Many cup-holders include an open area along some portion of theperiphery of the upper wall. For those cup-holders not including such acup-holder, the planform of the condiment packet holder should becircular as described above. However, where such openings are includedin the upper periphery of the cup-holder, the planform preferablyincludes a protrusion 106 at one end, end at least one and as many asthree inches past the outer diameter of the circular portion of theplanform. The protrusion 106 includes a narrow slot 105 (one-sixteenthto one-quarter of an inch in width) configured receive the verticallouver or slat of an air vent closure mechanism. The sides of theprotrusion 106 are tapered or arcuate, to facilitate wedging theprotrusion between adjacent slats to those received by the slot 105. Inthis manner, the condiment packet holder 100, 300 may be mounted onto anair vent within the automobile, for cases in which either such mountingis preferable or placement within a cup-holder is not feasible.

In one embodiment, the condiment packet holder 100, 300 may optionallyinclude on one side an annular protrusion 107 intended to be received byan upper interior portion of the cup-holder (e.g., about three inches orless in outer diameter, about one-sixteenth of an inch thick andapproximately one-half inch in height).

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4A is a section viewtaken at section lines A-A in FIG. 4, and FIG. 4B is a side view of aportion of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4.

Condiment packet holder 400 depicted in FIG. 4 has a similar structureand is manufactured in substantially the same manner as described abovein connection with condiment packet holders 100 and 300. However, theplanform of condiment packet holder 400 includes a protrusion 401 withsubstantially straight prongs, rather than being arcuate for wedging ofthe protrusion in an air vent as described above.

In addition, a wedge-shape “shark tooth” 402 is mounted on at least oneof the prongs for protrusion 401, and optionally separate teeth aremounted on each prong. In the example shown, the tooth 402 slopes downtoward the free end of the prong and is mounted on a top surface of theprong, although optionally the tooth may be oriented to slope down awayfrom the free end of the prong and/or be mounted on a bottom surface, ormultiple teeth may be mounted on each prong with either the same oropposite orientations and/or on the same or on opposite sides of thecondiment packet holder 400. The tooth 402 or teeth assist in wedgingthe condiment packet holder 400 into an automobile air vent, to retainthe condiment packet holder 400 in position.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according tostill another embodiment of the present disclosure, illustratingadditional design concepts. In particular, the condiment packet holder500 of FIG. 5 illustrates two design concepts: First, the aperture 501for receiving and suspending a condiment packet need not have anyparticular orientation with respect to the protrusion. Thus, forexample, the long dimension of the aperture 501 may be transverse inorientation to the direction in which the protrusion extends asillustrated in FIG. 5, rather than oriented in the same direction asillustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. Second, the size and shape of theaperture 501 may be “keyed” to the condiment packets of a specificvendor. Thus, for instance, the condiment packet of a particular vendormay have a specific perimeter shape (i.e., rectangular with onetruncated or “clipped” corner as shown in FIG. 5). The aperture may beshaped to receive and support condiment packet of that particularvendor, to the exclusion of being able to support competitors' condimentpackets (i.e., a rectangular condiment packet without the clipped cornerwould not be received by the aperture in FIG. 5). Similarly, for acondiment packet sized with significantly larger transverse dimensionsthan normal, and with only a small protruding flange, the aperture maybe sized to receive and support the packet in an aperture too large tosupport competitors' packets.

The condiment packet holder 100, 300, 400, 500 of the present disclosureis simple and very inexpensive to manufacture in volume. Thus, fast foodenterprises may give away the condiment packet holder as part of thecustomer's purchase or as a promotional item, or may simply have suchcondiment packet holders available to be given or sold to the customerupon request at no charge or for a nominal price. Of course, thesurfaces of condiment packet holder 100 may bear any graphic and/orprinted matter desired in connection with the article's promotionalnature, and such graphic and/or printed matter may periodically orintermittently be changed in different lots of the condiment packetholder produced near the time of different events (such as the releaseof new movies).

Although the present disclosure has been described with exemplaryembodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A condiment packet holder for use in anautomobile, comprising: a generally cylindrical, molded body configuredto be received by an automobile cup-holder and supported around at leasta portion of a periphery of the body by a rim for an insert within thecup-holder; and an aperture through the body, the aperture sized andshaped to receive a body of a condiment packet and to suspend thecondiment packet by one of supporting, on surfaces of the body adjacentthe aperture, at least a portion of a flange protruding from thecondiment packet body around an upper periphery of the condiment packetbody and receiving in compression sloped sidewalls around the upperperiphery of the condiment packet body.
 2. The condiment packet holderaccording to claim 1, further comprising: an extension protruding from aportion of the periphery of the body, the extension configured tosupport the body from an automobile air vent.
 3. The condiment packetholder according to claim 2, wherein the extension includes a slotconfigured to receive a slat within a closure structure for theautomobile air vent and support the body from the slat.
 4. The condimentpacket holder according to claim 2, wherein the extension includes atooth protruding from a portion thereof configured to hold the bodywithin a closure structure for the automobile air vent.
 5. The condimentpacket holder according to claim 1, wherein the aperture is keyed to theperimeter shape of the body of a condiment packet for a specific vendor.6. The condiment packet holder according to claim 1, wherein theaperture is generally rectangular.
 7. The condiment packet holderaccording to claim 6, wherein the generally rectangular apertureincludes at least one clipped corner.
 8. A condiment packet holder foruse in an automobile, comprising: a molded body configured to bereceived by an automobile cup-holder and supported therein; and anaperture through the body, the aperture sized and shaped to receive abody of a condiment packet and to suspend the condiment packet in theaperture.
 9. The condiment packet holder according to claim 8, furthercomprising: an extension protruding from a portion of the periphery ofthe body, the extension configured to support the body from anautomobile air vent.
 10. The condiment packet holder according to claim9, wherein the extension includes a slot configured to receive a slatwithin a closure structure for the automobile air vent and support thebody from the slat.
 11. The condiment packet holder according to claim9, wherein the extension includes a tooth protruding from a portionthereof configured to hold the body within a closure structure for theautomobile air vent.
 12. The condiment packet holder according to claim8, wherein the aperture is keyed to the perimeter shape of the body of acondiment packet for a specific vendor.
 13. The condiment packet holderaccording to claim 8, wherein the aperture is generally rectangular. 14.The condiment packet holder according to claim 13, wherein the generallyrectangular aperture includes at least one clipped corner.